Google
has found itself mired in legal proceedings and bad press after it
was forced to admit in mid-May that its Street View vehicles
had accidentally
recorded "payload data" from open wireless
networks. Google admits that it was recording SSID and MAC addresses
on secure networks, but maintains it was not aware that the payload
data from open networks was being captured until a Germany regulatory
authority asked to audit Wi-Fi data collection procedures.

Google
has stated that it is now providing
European regulators with the data it collected. Previously,
Google had stated that it was reviewing how to hand over the data in
Germany without violating any German laws. Google is also facing an
informal inquiry in the U.S. by the FTC. Canada announced this week
that it would launch
an official investigation into the data collection. There
are also several suits pending against Google in the U.S. by
individuals who allege their unsecured network data was captured by
Google.

The judge in one of the suits filed in Portland has
already requested that Google turn over hard drives containing the
data. Those hard drives are expected to be held for perusal if the
evidence becomes relevant in the Portland suit.

Turning
private network data over to governments and courts is something that
privacy advocates generally resist. However, the Center for Digital
Democracy is glad to see Google do this. Jeff Chester from the Center
for Digital Democracy told the Wall Street Journal that this is an
"honesty litmus test" for Google. He continued saying, "I
have all kinds of reservations and concerns about having government
forcing companies to turn over information. But in this case, this is
the right thing to do."

"I'm an Internet expert too. It's all right to wire the industrial zone only, but there are many problems if other regions of the North are wired." -- North Korean Supreme Commander Kim Jong-il